I don't have one, never shot a gun with one attached.

Are people carrying the guns with Rmr's for self defense?

Is there any advantage to using one on a range pistol if you utilize open sights on your carry gun?

Are there downsides to their use?

Can most people transition from one pistol with an rmr to a second pistol without?

Same speed as open sights, but more accurate at distance and also easier to be accurate. Go to the pistol section, for more info.

Don't sleep on the condiment bottles.

My split times on getting ketchup on my Oscar Meyer are off the freakin' charts!

They have benefits and drawbacks, like anything else in the world. The biggest benefit to me as I age, is one focal point (the dot) instead of trying to get alignment with a front and rear.

At the range, I don't have much trouble switching back and forth.

Downside-
It's made with glass and operates on batteries.
Glass breaks, batteries eventually run out. Adds a little weight to the pistol and changes the balance of the handgun. Absolutely nothing that you can't get used to in a range session.

However, If you can co-witness your iron sights, you're still able to use the pistol accurately.

You need to change holsters if you have an RMR.

Upside-
For me, I can acquire the green triangle quicker in low light conditions. I need "cheaters" / reading glasses to see anything small within arms reach. The front site is fuzzy to me if I'm not wearing my reading glasses. Without glasses, that green triangle is crystal clear!

Like c1steve said, A little more accurate at distance.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Same speed as open sights, but more accurate at distance and also easier to be accurate. Go to the pistol section, for more info.

In my very amateur and limited experience as a shooter, this is consistent w/ my experience with RMR and DP Micro; I've tried both and prefer the latter (probably in the minority). It's on all my carry guns despite the price.

I know some guys that will not put them on simply because their overall size can create printing poblems. Depending on how you carry, your body-type and apparel, a lot will depend on what you carry.

I've heard some shooters insist that once you transition to a pistol optic, then you should update your regular rotation of pistols to a similar optic in order to maintain a consistent sight picture from irons. Some guys have problems as they're 'fishing' for the dot when they present. For some, there's some serious re-training, for others the transition from irons to optic is easy.

Count me in the camp that tried it and got rid of it. I’m fast enough and accurate enough with pistol irons, and I’ve standardized to illuminated Trijicon. I really wanted to like the red dots, but I spent time hunting for the reticle and for what? I’m not shooting pistol at distance enough see an advantage.

I recall the exact day I dumped it, I was shooting outside with a group on a fast course and it started raining. The optic (RMR) was unusable (and my irons weren’t tall enough to co-witness). I said to myself, why did I spend $600 to be a worse shooter? Took it off that night. I love red dots on rifles but I just can’t like them on pistols. I shoot different targets with a different style, & it’s just not advantageous.

Same here. I alternate dots and irons at our monthly steel challenge games.

At the range, I don't have much trouble switching back and forth.[/QUOTE]

No TV screen on my sigs
I tried it and can't find the dot

Now irons won't fail me or me them

I had some on my ACOGs but the I learned the Bindon aiming concept and the RMRs became redundant. I have one on my M1 Super 90 and my twin AR-9 SBRs. The rest of them are just sitting in the safe. I don’t like them on pistols. I prefer front sight shooting.

Check out this ~11m video on yootoob from Massad Ayoob. . .

Red Dot Sights on Carry Guns? Pros and Cons of Carry Optics

. . .which I found pretty informative.

For me, in addition for easier target acquisition for my 62 year old eyes, I find that by not having to concentrate as much on sight alignment with 'traditional sights' the optic allows my field of view open up to better see to the sides of my periphery (while still keeping the dot on target).

Hope I explained that o.k.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Same speed as open sights, but more accurate at distance and also easier to be accurate. Go to the pistol section, for more info.

In my very amateur and limited experience as a shooter, this is consistent w/ my experience with RMR and DP Micro; I've tried both and prefer the latter (probably in the minority). It's on all my carry guns despite the price.

You’re in the minority preferring the DeltaPoint… but so is USMS SOG…

Lots of good replies.
They are definitely NOT everyone’s cup of tea and that is OK

( I don’t care for them, but still shoot irons extremely well.)

They really require a dedicated effort ( for a long time iron shooter anyway) to maximizes the advantages they do admittedly possess.
This will NOT instantly make you shoot faster or more accurately there IS a learning curve.

I see two sides to this:
To really optimize dot use in a handgun, you have to practice a very high quality draw stroke from the holster or you will be searching for the dot. It definitely highlights deficiency in your draw.
When practiced, they will without question speed up target engagement and enhance longer range accuracy

BUT

In defense situations where you are moving dynamically may not get a perfect draw stroke, and are intending to fire very quickly at close range, the dot may be a hinderance.

quote:

Is there any advantage to using one on a range pistol if you utilize open sights on your carry gun?

Depends on your skill level. They will help many shooters with their firearms presentation and trigger control as that (dot/triangle/circle etc.) will show you your inconsistencies in real time.

If you already shoot irons with a target focus/two eyes open kind of thing dots are super easy to learn. If you don't then the dots can be more of a challenge especially if you have a gazillion rounds down the pipe with irons.

In general I think the dots have tangible benefits but are nowhere near the paradigm shift they were on rifles.

Tried them on several handguns and I decided I hate these optics on handguns. Moved my delta pro to my SP5 and I moved the other to my shotgun.

Limited scores and Open scores tend to be close. How much of that is comp and how much is optic might be hard to tell.

Some stages the 170mm mags could be the difference.

Both tend to have the more experienced shooters.

Frame mounted optics are useful, to me. I never shot a slide ride optic with complete co-witnessing. That could be interesting.

But, I think guns need a proper redesign for a fixed optic/fixed sights. That is a tremendous improvement.

This may sound odd, but optics are kinda like increased barrel length.

Bit more awkward to deal with, but much easier on target, to a certain distance. It takes a bit to figure out where to put the dot at longer distances.

I seem to find RMR's work well on weapons that have a cheek weld but find it hard at times to quickly locate the dot on completely hand held pistols. This is particularly true of the smaller dot devices that are being mounted on sub and micro pistols. I find one of the miniature laser devices mounted on the rail to be more effective at most personal defense ranges and could also aid in a deterrent effect. I would much rather end a confrontation without a weapon discharge and I know I would rapidly have second thoughts if I saw a laser dot located on my center mass area. I do feel that for pistol hunting scenarios the dots would be an advantage where there is time to align your shot.

RMR's = .40 S&W, it will eventually die off.

quote:

Originally posted by JR78:
RMR's = .40 S&W, it will eventually die off.

They will definitely go the way of plastic framed striker fired pistols. Flash in the pan.

Life realities have made the RDS something of a must-have for me. I recently had cataracts removed and no longer require corrective eyewear...mostly. I went from relatively extreme nearsightedness to being farsighted, so like CPD SIG I now need cheaters for seeing things like front sights clearly...which of course has the side effect of rendering everything at target distance into a smeared mess. With Glocks I can generally make do and still shoot fairly accurately without having a crisp-looking front sight (thanks to that ol' 'muscle memory' thingy), but when I switch to another firearm with a weird grip angle it now often gets rather dicey trying to align front and rears when everything up close is rather unfocused. A red dot wonderfully cures all of that fuzzy ambiguity, no reading glasses needed.

Only there's a catch, and it's an expensive one; I have a LOT of pistols that don't have 'GLOCK' stamped on their slides.